Paleopathologies Represented in the Iconography of Ancient Coastal Societies of Ecuador

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Typically, paleopathology diagnoses ancient diseases by examining human skeletal remains through gross or histological analysis, radiography, and CT imaging. However, in recent years, iconography has increasingly enabled the identification of genetic-hereditary and congenital conditions that might otherwise only be detected in well-preserved skeletal remains or through molecular studies. This poster presents the results of an iconographic analysis of 199 figurines from pre-Columbian cultures in the coastal region of Ecuador. Of these, 147 figurines depicted some pathology, including at least seven genetic-related pathologies, five congenital conditions, and four acquired conditions. Notably, many of these diseases were represented in figurines associated with shamans. These findings underscore the importance of integrating iconographic studies with traditional osteological analyses to deepen our understanding of paleopathologies and their conception within the cosmovision of ancient Indigenous peoples.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 51269